In our Shooters’ Forum, there is an interesting thread showcasing a number of new varmint rifles built for the 2015 season. Here are six of the noteworthy builds highlighted in the thread. See more rifles in this Forum thread: Let’s See Your New For 2015 Rigs.

From member Greg T
6mm AI on RBLP Bat Three-Lug Action
Krieger 1:14″-Twist, 28″ Tube
.274 Neck throated for 75 gr V-Max
Blue / Black Shurley Brothers Lowrider Stock
Comment: I think I have found my favorite caliber as now I basically have twins – one for 87 grainers and one for 75 grainers. Yes this is overkill (and financially not the best decision) but it’s fun, so what the heck. With such a slow twist rate, I think I can push the 75s to 3850 fps or so.

Just like the Olympics, the World Long Range Target Shooting Championships event is held every four years. This year the World Championships take place in the USA, at Camp Perry, Ohio. The USA Young Eagles Rifle Team will be there, competing against six other under-25 rifle teams from other countries. You can help the USA Young Eagles Team by visiting the Young Eagles’ GoFundMe Page and making a secure donation.

This is an interesting technical article prepared by Action Target, a leading steel target manufacturer based in Provo, Utah. With technical data provided by the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington D.C., this report is designed to cut through the recent hype and establish a basis of fact for accurate evaluation and comparison.

What Is Steel?

Steel is an alloy metal composed of iron and varying amounts of carbon and/or other elements such as chromium, nickel, tungsten, manganese, and so on. Steel with specific properties and characteristics is created by adjusting the overall chemical composition or by altering the various production processes such as rolling, finishing, and heat treatment. Because each of these factors can be modified, there is potentially no limit to the number of different steel recipes that can be created. Currently, there are over 3,000 cataloged grades or chemical compositions of steel available. Steel can utilize a wide variety of alloying elements and heat treatments to develop the most desirable combination of properties.

The 9th Annual Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will be held at Camp Butner, North Carolina, May 1-10, 2015. The Eastern CMP Games run May 1-5, while the Creedmoor Cup Matches take place on May 6-10. All interested shooters are invited to participate in this popular event, which includes: Rimfire Sporter Match, M16 Match, M1 Garand Match, Springfield Match, M1-Carbine Match, Vintage Military Match, Modern Military Match, Vintage Sniper Match, Pistol Matches and more. New for 2015, the CMP will be hold a .22 Rimfire EIC Pistol Match.

Well, it appears that youth and skill CAN triumph over “old age and treachery” — at least in the world of IBS benchrest competition. Here’s a feel-good story that should give us confidence in the upcoming generation of new shooters.

A month ago, Henry Miller won the IBS benchrest match at Dunham’s Bay, New York. Henry shot a .2698 Aggregate to top 21 other shooters. That sounds like a standard headline for most any benchrest event, doesn’t it? In the case, however, it was rather exceptional. You see, Henry, the son of long-time benchrester Scott Miller, is just eleven years old. It was an impressive performance by the young man — conditions for the March 22nd match were difficult. In fact, only two shooters finished under .300 for the 100-yard, five-target average. Scott Miller introduced son Henry recently to the world of benchrest competition. In addition to Dunham’s Bay, young Henry has shot at Pine Tree Rifle Club in Johnstown, New York and at Bell City in Connecticut. By the way, Henry beat the Euber brothers (both Hall of Famers) and other veteran shooters many decades older than he. Well done, young man!

Most competitive long-range shooters weigh powder charges for their handloads. Some even use ultra-precise magnetic force restoration scales to load to single-kernel tolerances. But is weight-based measuring always the best way to fill a case with powder? Another option is volumetric charging. This method fills a precisely-sized cavity with powder and then dumps the charge into the case. A Harrell’s rotary powder measure works this way, as does the sliding powder filler on a Dillon progressive press.

For long-range applications, most people believe that precise weighing of powder charges is the best way to achieve optimal accuracy and low ES/SD. However, those short-range Benchrest guys do pretty darn well with their thrown charges, at least at 100 and 200 yards.

Our friend Dennis Santiago recently observed something that made him scratch his head and wonder about weighing charges. His AR-15 match rifle shot better with volumetric (cavity-measured) charges than with weighed charges dispensed by an RCBS ChargeMaster. Here’s what he reports:

Cavity vs. Dribble (Dennis Santiago Report)I had the chance to compare nominally identical ammunition loaded two ways. These were all .223 Remington match loads using 77gr Sierra Match Kings over 23.4 grains of Hodgdon Varget. Same gun. However I loaded some ammo with charges dispensed with a Lee cavity-style powder measure while other rounds were loaded with powder weighed/dispensed by an RCBS Chargemaster. The cavity-drop ammo (with powder dropped from the Lee unit) was consistently better than the weighed-charge ammo. I have no idea why…

So, ladies and gentlemen — what do you think? Why did Mr. Santiago’s volumetrically-charged ammo shoot better than ammo filled with weighed charges? What’s your theory? Gary Eliseo suspects that Dennis’s Chargemaster might have been drifting. What do you think? Post your theories in the comments area below.

In a revealing podcast, Pete Brownell of Brownells, the largest gun parts vendor in the world, provides some fascinating insights into today’s firearms industry. On Episode 122 of the AR-15 Podcast (see Podcast video below), Pete and Podcast host Reed Snyder talk about the growth of the firearm industry and the widespread popularity of guns in the USA. Looking back at the second half of the 20th Century, Pete speculates that the millions of GIs returning from WWII fueled the growth of competitive shooting and hunting. America’s love affair with guns has continued apace into the 21st Century. Now an estimated 39% of American households own guns according to a Gallup survey, and the NRA says the true figure is closer to 50%. Additionally, Pete and Reed talk about the changing face of gunsmithing. Pete notes that the tighter tolerances permitted by advanced tools have fostered new methodologies and improved precision in gunsmithing.

Magpul caused a stir with its surprise introduction of an advanced stock for Rem 700 actions. Now Magpul has followed that with a product that could be even more successful — a tactical-style reinforced polymer stock for the popular Ruger 10/22 rimfire rifle.

Priced at just $139.95, Magpul’s new Hunter X-22 stock features tactical styling and adjustable ergonomics. Like Magpul’s Hunter 700 stock for the Rem 700, the new X-22 stock offers adjustable length-of-pull (LOP) via spacers, plus adjustable comb height via optional Cheek Riser Kits. To ensure compatibility with all Ruger 10/22s, the Magpul X-22 stock features an innovative reversible barrel tray that fits heavy bull barrels as with as thinner, factory-contour barrels. Fitted with M-LOK accessory slots and a rubber buttpad, Magpul’s new Hunter X-22 will be offered in four colors: Black, Gray, Dark Earth (Tan), Olive Drab (Green). See all four colors below:

LongRangeHunting.com recently published a helpful review of the new Nightforce 3-10x42mm SHV scope. If you’re looking for a hunting optic or you are interested in predator hunting, this review is worth a read. Author Tim Titus, an experienced hunting guide from Oregon, tests the little SHV is the field, bagging a coyote in the process.

Tim was impressed with the 3-10 SHV, given it’s price level: “While the SHV performed flawlessly on this hunt, NXS or ATACR owners will notice some subtle differences in form and function when comparing this scope to its more expensive big brothers. The Nightforce SHV won’t replace the 2.5-10X NXS for those who want to turn turrets on a consistent basis or who have the need for specialized or lighted reticles. But … for current Nightforce owners wanting a more affordable alternative … the SHV opens another playing field in what is still a very upscale optic. I’m confident this new scope will find its way onto many big game and predator hunting rifles.”

You have to love it when a prototype product not only performs well, but actually wins a match. For some time, Criterion Barrels has been working on a match-grade barrel for vintage Lee-Enfield rifles. It looks like they got things right…

Over the Easter weekend the New Zealand Service Rifle Association held its annual national service rifle competition. Coming first in the Classic Bolt Action class was Wellington’s Nicole McKee shooting a Lee-Enfield with a new, prototype Criterion barrel. Nicole’s rifle was built by her husband Duncan, a vintage rifle expert who specializes in accurizing the No. 4 and SMLE actions. Nicole’s .303 British handloads featured Hornady 174gr FMJ Boattail bullets (SKU: 3131) pushed by 47.0 grains of ADI 2209 (H4350). ADI 2209 has become the top go-to powder for .303 British shooters in New Zealand.

Elizabeth Marsh — remember the name. This girl’s got game, as the 16-year-old Arkansas native proved at the 2015 National Junior Olympic Championships (NJOSC). In a superb performance, young Elizbeth won BOTH the Air Rifle and Smallbore Events in the Ladies’ Division at NJOSC. Remarkably, her finals score beat the current Junior World Record.

Elizabeth first claimed top honors in Air Rifle, then she won the Smallbore event with a dominating performance. She shot a world-class Smallbore Final, besting her nearest opponent by 12.1 points. In fact, her Finals score of 459.3 is 3.5 points better than the current Junior World Record (455.8) set by China’s Ruijiao Pei at last year’s World Championship.

Field Target (FT) and Hunter Field Target (HFT) airgun disciplines are popular outdoor shooting sports that simulate the challenges of hunting small game. One of the unique aspects of FT competition is target range-finding using parallax and optical focus. (HFT is limited to lower power scopes, so this type of range-fiding is not used in HFT.) Range-finding is very important because the pellets shot by FT airguns drop rapidly once they leave the muzzle (pellets can drop roughly 5″ at 50 yards). If you don’t have your scope set to the correct distance, you’ll probably miss the target high or low.

FT competitors employ high-magnification (35-55X) scopes to sight targets placed from 10 to 55 yards (7.3 to 50m in the UK). Because these scopes have very short depth-of-field at high-magnification, the target will be out of focus unless you have the scope focus/parallax control set very precisely. But competitors can use this to their advantage — once the target is precisely focused, you have effectively established its distance from the shooter. FT scopes often have large-diameter wheels on the side parallax control so the focus can be set very precisely. You can then read marks placed on the scope to adjust the amount of elevation need to put the pellet on target.

We first ran this story a couple seasons back. Since they we’ve received many questions about this gun, so we thought we’d give readers another chance to learn about this truly innovative, switch-barrel “convertible” rifle. This gun works for both short-range and long-range benchrest matches.

You interested in a really wild, innovative bench gun that can shoot both short-range and long-range matches? Check out Seb Lambang’s latest “do-it-all” rifle. It’s a switch-barrel rifle combining two very different chamberings: 6 PPC and .284 Winchester. With that caliber combo, Seb’s covered from 100 yards (LV/HV mode) all the way out to 1000 (LR Light Gun mode). But the dual chambering is not the rifle’s only trick feature. Exploiting the new long-range benchrest rules, Seb has fitted a 3″-wide, flat rear metal keel to the buttstock. That counter-balances his 30″-long 7mm barrel, improves tracking, and adds stability. Seb built the stock and smithing was done by Australian gunsmith David Kerr.

Detachable Hammerhead Wing Section Plus Fat-Bottom Keel
To further reduce torque and improve tracking, the stock features an 8″-wide, detachable fore-end fixture. This “hammerhead” fore-end section has extended “wings” on both sides, making the rifle super-stable. The hammerhead unit can be removed, leaving the stock 3″ wide for use in registered benchrest matches where 3″ is the maximum width. The photos below show Seb’s gun in .284 Win Long-Range (LR) Light Gun mode.

Here at AccurateShooter.com we tend to focus on highly-accurate (1/2-MOA or better), custom-built bolt-action rifles. But for home defense, deer hunting, or just having fun with the grand-kids, factory-built firearms serve their purpose. With that in mind, we wondered, “Just what are the most popular mass-production firearms these days?” Gunbroker.com, the biggest firearms auction site, has tallied the top-selling new and “previously-owned” firearms in various categories for all of last year. Here are Gunbroker’s “Best Selling Firearms” for 2014.

GunBroker’s Top-Selling New and Used Firearms of 2014

Reactive targets are fun — a nice change of pace compared to punching paper. We know many guys like busting clay birds with rifles at 300 yards and beyond. This is good training for a varmint safari, as a clay pigeon is roughly the same size as a well-fed prairie dog. However, clays make better rifle targets if you can get them up off the ground. When placed on a berm they don’t shatter as dramatically. Birchwood Casey has a new product that makes “clay-busting” more fun.

The new Rigid™ Clay Holder Stand from Birchwood Casey features an A-frame design that sets up quickly and easily. The stand is constructed of heavy cardboard and should withstand multiple trips to the range. The die-cut holes will hold eight standard size clay targets on one side and four on the other. The Rigid Clay Holder Stand folds flat for easy storage and transport and comes packaged with three sheets of Shoot-N-C® 1″, 2″ and 3″ targets. Birchwood Casey’s clay target holder sells for a suggested retail price of $7.60. (At that prices you can afford to buy a few spares.)

Editor’s Comment: This is not the only way to clean a rimfire barrel. There are other procedures. This is the method recommended by ELEY based on decades of experience with the top smallbore shooters in the world, including many Olympic Gold Medalists. Some shooters have been very successful cleaning less frequently, or using different types of solvents. The ELEY method is a good starting point.

Rimfire Barrel Cleaning

1. Clean the extension tube with a 12 gauge brush and felt or tissue moistened with solvent.

2. Smoothly insert a cleaning rod guide into the receiver.

3. Apply a dry felt to the cleaning rod adapter and push it through the barrel to the muzzle in one slow steady movement. As the felt is dry it may feel stiff.

Gunsmith Darrell Holland has invented an interesting upgrade to the RCBS Auto Bench Priming Tool. If your hand starts to hurt after priming dozens of cases with a hand-held, squeeze-type priming tool, you may want to consider Holland’s invention, which he calls the “Perfect Primer Seater” (PPS).

Holland basically has modified the RCBS lever, adding a precise crush control and a means of measuring depth with a gauge. He claims this gives “an EXACT primer seating depth based on primer pocket depth and primer thickness”. With Holland’s PPS, primer seating depth is controlled with a rotating wheel that limits lever travel in precise gradations. You can buy the complete priming system for $215.00, or, if you already own the RCBS Auto Prime tool, you can purchase an adapter kit (with base, arm, adjuster, and gauge etc.) for $120.00. To order, visit Hollandguns.com then click on “Reloading Equipment”.

AccurateShooter.com Forum members often ask: “Is there a reasonably-priced ammo box that fits PPC and BR cases just right?” The answer is yes — check out the 50-round Frankford Arsenal model 512 ammo box. It is offered in transparent blue or smoke gray for $3.49 per box at MidwayUSA (or $3.99 per box at Amazon.com).

The cartridge slots are just the right size for 22BR, 6mmBR, 30BR, 220 Russian, 6 PPC, 6.8 Rem SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 7.62×39 cartridge cases. Cells are 1.687″ high x 0.392″ square, with a divider height of 0.94″. That will hold BR-type cases securely, and fired brass won’t get jumbled if you tip-over the box.

OK, guys, it’s time to practice your downloading skills. Here’s a very handy cartridge information sheet you will definitely want to save for future reference. Shown below is Page One of the Primer Size and Bullet Diameter Chart created by Graf & Sons. This chart shows the bullet diameter and primer size for more than 320 popular cartridges*. The full three-page chart is available in PDF format for easy printing.

NOTE: If you have the PDF reader installed in your browser, the Graf’s Chart may open in a new tab when you click on the image above. To save the three-page PDF file to your computer or device, click the Floppy Disc icon that appears in the lower right (after the PDF file opens). Here is the direct link:http://www.grafs.com/uploads/technical-resource-pdf-file/12.pdf.

Note: There are a few mistakes. If you are making 22 BR from Lapua brass, you’ll want a small rifle primer. Likewise with 25-20 WCF, you want a small primer.